Shelley, Olivares pace UCO to lead in Tunica Cup

BILOXI, Miss. (Feb. 21) – Susana Olivares and Emma Shelley are atop the individual leaderboard and Central Oklahoma has the team lead after first-day play was stopped Monday in the Tunica Cup.

Teams couldn’t finish the 36-hole day because of darkness, with most players needing six holes to complete the second round. Action resumes at 8 a.m. Tuesday, followed immediately by the final round.

The Bronchos were in second, four strokes behind Harding, after shooting a 302 in the morning round at the 5,898-yard, par-72 Tunica National Golf Club but rallied in the afternoon. UCO had a 14-shot lead over Central Missouri when play was stopped.

Olivares had a firm grasp of the individual lead, owning a five-shot advantage over Shelley. Olivares was even-par for the tournament with five holes remaining in her second round, while Shelley was five-over with six holes left.

UCO had two others in the top 10, with Kinsley Hall tied for sixth at nine-over and Mika Ramos tied for 10th at 10-over.

“It was a long day, but we put ourselves in a good position,” head coach Michael Bond said. “We played pretty well, especially with the wet conditions. Hopefully we can come out tomorrow and keep it going.”

Olivares had two bogeys, one birdie and 15 pars in firing a one-over 73 in the morning round. The sophomore standout offset a pair of bogeys with three birdies in 13 second-round holes in getting back to even.

Shelley birdied two par-5s in shooting an opening-round 75 and was two-over through 12 holes in the afternoon before play was halted.

Ramos shot 76 and Hall 78 in the morning round, while Madison O’Dell had an 83.